FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT REPORTED STOLEN - PAGE 5

Their cars were taken while warming up on driveways, or idling at the gas station - but police say the victims were also lawbreakers. Increasingly, investigators say, people are leaving their car engines running or leaving their keys in the ignition, violations of state motor vehicle codes. Although the victims of car theft are rarely charged with such infractions, they could find themselves without insurance coverage for the resulting loss, police say. In Anne Arundel County, where more than 1,170 vehicles were reported stolen last year, police began this month to keep track of the number of car thefts in which keys were left in the ignition.

Police Blotter is a sampling of crimes in Baltimore city and county.Eastern DistrictAggravated Assault: A 35-year-old woman reported that her 46-year-old husband hit her in the head with a broomstick about 8 a.m. yesterday in the 1200 block of Darley Ave. The man left the house after his wife called police and was not arrested.Northeastern DistrictStolen auto: A green 1995 Plymouth Acclaim was reported stolen from the 3300 block of Parklawn Ave. about 2 a.m. yesterday. The owner, who was in her house, said that she heard a car door slam, went to her window and saw the suspects driving away.

A still-life painting that was appraised at $125,000 has been reported stolen from the home of a north Baltimore man who died last fall, city police said.Michael Asner, of the 300 block of Warren Ave. in South Baltimore, told police that upon visiting the home of his late father, who died Oct. 10, he noticed that the painting "Still Life with Lemons" by W.J. McCloskey, was missing from a wall of a third-floor room.The painting was enclosed in a wooden frame measuring 12 inches by 19 inches, police said.

Just as the temperatures were about to soar into the 90s, Annapolis police said a city resident reported his snowball maker was apparently stolen. Police said Wednesday that a resident of the 1800 block of Robert Small Road came to the police station Monday to say that his Sno Master machine was gone from the locked storage room of his basement last Saturday. He had placed it in there in April. There were no signs of forced entry, and family members, who have access to that room, said they had no knowledge about a theft of the equipment, according to police.

A Baltimore police car was stolen while it was parked overnight in Catonsville, Baltimore County police said. A city officer reported the theft to county authorities at 6:41 a.m., Baltimore County police Corp. John Wachter said. The unmarked 2014 silver Chevrolet Impala had been parked outside a home in the 300 block of Orley Road at 10:30 p.m. on Thursday. The officer told county police that the car was gone when he returned to the site of his parked vehicle at 6:40 a.m. Police would not say why the car was parked there.

A gauge containing a small amount of radioactive material was reported stolen this week from a job site at Fort Meade, according to the Maryland Department of the Environment. The Troxler Model 3430 surface moisture density gauge, serial No. 37672, was last seen Monday at the temporary job site and reported stolen by GeoConcepts Engineering, along with other contracting equipment, about 2 p.m. Thursday, according to environment officials. The theft was also reported to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and Fort Meade police were notified.

Aberdeen Students and staff at George D. Lisby Elementary School at Hillsdale were evacuated from the school Monday afternoon after a dishwasher overheated. The dishwasher in the kitchen of the Aberdeen school sustained fire damage, but it was contained to the machine, according to Teri Kranefeld, manager of communications for Harford County Public Schools. The students and staff were able to get out of the building safely and then returned once fire officials determined it was safe.

Howard County police arrested two juveniles yesterday morning in Savage after the car in which they were riding, which had been reported stolen, collided with a police cruiser. As officers responding to a report of suspicious activity arrived in the 9000 block of Jefferson St., the driver of a 1986 Chevrolet Celebrity made a sudden u-turn and jumped out of the car while it was still moving, police said. The car, which was traveling at a low speed, collided head-on with the police cruiser.

Howard County police reported 11 vehicle thefts during the weekend. Between 6 p.m. Thursday and 3 a.m. yesterday, seven cars were stolen in Columbia, three in Elkridge and a 48-foot trailer was taken from a Savage parking lot.Police took two juveniles into custody after recovering a 1998 Jeep Cherokee that was stolen early yesterday from the 5400 block of Hildebrand Court in the Village of Harper's Choice.Pub Date: 5/25/99